Fla. CFO Atwater, New York Gov. Cuomo trade insults over jobs ads

Florida CFO Jeff Atwater sent a letter Monday to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo blasting an advertising campaign touting his state’s business recruitment efforts.

“It is perfectly understandable that you would want to stay in touch with so many former New Yorkers who have already discovered the allure of the Sunshine State,” read the letter, which had a sarcastic tone.

Cuomo, a Democrat, has been buying ad time in Florida to tout his state’s STARTUP-NY initiative, which allows new businesses to operate tax free for 10 years.

It’s a response to states led by GOP governors – like Florida and Texas – trying to recruit businesses in New York.

Cuomo shot back with an equally snarky reply to Atwater’s letter.

“For a CFO, he must be pretty bad at math if he doesn’t understand that the zero in StartUp’s zero tax zones means no state taxes for new businesses,” wrote Cuomo spokesman Matt Wing in an email to Tribune/Scripps.